You can probably imagine the shock everyone felt, then, when Mallory Holtman, the opposing team’s first baseman and career homerun leader for Central Washington, turned to the umpire and said, “Would it be okay if we carried her around the bases, and she touched each bag?” When the umpires gave their approval, Holtman and teammate Liz Wallace picked up Tucholsky, crossed their hands beneath her, and carried her to second base. Once there, they lowered the injured player and gently touched her foot to the bag. They did the same for third base and home plate. The crowd erupted into a standing ovation. Western Oregon went on to win the game, eliminating Central Washington from the playoffs.

When later asked about the good deed, Holtman said the decision to help out her opponent was simple. She felt Tucholsky deserved the homerun, because the ball cleared the fence. In her own interview, Tucholsky said, “It’s amazing, what they did…I hope I would do the same for her in the same situation.” George Vecsey, a writer who was there covering the game, said what happened can only be described as a moment of grace.

He was about five or six people ahead of me. I was in a hurry and saw him as an obstacle. I’ve seen people get off the end of an escalator and stop dead in their tracks, gather their things and suddenly there’s a pile up of angry
people behind them. You can’t stop an escalator full of people behind you.

Like the Energizer bunny, they keep on goin’.

This man was well aware of the challenge. He tried desperately to step aside. Fumbling with his small packages, struggling to gain his footing, you could see how troubling this was for him. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me! I don’t mean to hold you up,” he said as he struggled to get off the escalator.

I suddenly saw this in a whole new light. It was like I was watching my future. I felt sorry for him. I felt sick to my stomach because this man was apologizing to everyone, when we should have been helping him and calming his fears.

One by one, people zipped around him. I heard a few angry comments whispered as one lady passed by him.

I saw me.

By the time I got to him he was just about steady on his feet.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know there was more,” he said.

“No, sir. No more with me,” I said. This really hit me hard. I realized right then how sad it was that the world was in such a hurry. That, of course, included me. But…no more with me. Count me out.

This wonderful man paid his dues. For whatever time he had spent on this earth, he most likely walked many rough roads and too many important miles. Now he should be apologizing for moving slower?

My heart ached as I looked into his eyes. I wished that I could see what he had seen all those years. His face weathered from life itself, was creased and wrinkled. The small soft pockets under his eyes and the gentle lines
that curved up and around them told me he had many happy moments, too. Those were traces left behind from laughter and a smiling, happy man.

“My friend, can I help you with those things?” I asked.

Hesitant at first, he finally said, “Well, yes, thank you!”

I placed my hand under his left arm and walked with him a safe distance away from the rush of people.

“So what are you shopping for, sir?”

“Oh, just a little something for my neighbor. She’s a young mother raising kids on her own. She’s always so nice to me. I thought a box of candy for Mother’s Day…” he said, stopping suddenly as he searched the inside pocket of his sport coat.

“Do you need something?” I asked.

“Oh, no. Here. I think I have it right here. I always carry them with me,” he said. Then pulling out a hand full of papers he shuffled through them and handed me a business card that read:

“John A. Pomicter. Friend to all…enemy to no one! I said a prayer today and you were the answer. Thank you!”

“That’s for you,” he said. “Thanks for stopping to help an old man.”

“My friend, you helped ME! I discovered that I was unhappy with the world and I was part of the problem. Now I’ll be part of the solution. No more with me!”

“Then this was meant to be,” he said smiling. “You know God sends me gifts every day and always at least one special person. You were my gift for today! Let’s go get some chocolates, my friend.”

• Remove black heel marks, scuff marks and crayon from washable surfaces.
• Quiet squeaks.
• Lubricate drawers, windows, toys, snaps, zippers and more.
• Keep things smooth running and corrosion free:? rollerblades, skateboards, ski bindings, bike chains, lube zippers, snaps on tents, sleeping bags and outdoor covers.
• Clean electrical contacts
• Lube triggers on power tools
• Clean spray paint nozzles
• Lubricate locks and hinges
• Safely remove road tar and grime
• Remove gum and grease from vinyl

In fact, the company that makes the produce reports it has thousands of uses.

In 1953, a fledgling company called Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry, in a small lab in San Diego, California.? It took them 40 attempts to get the water displacing formula worked out. But they must have been really good, because the original secret formula for WD-40?which stands for Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try?is still in use today.? Convair, an aerospace contractor, first used WD-40 to protect the outer skin of the Atlas Missile from rust and corrosion. The product actually worked so well that several employees snuck some WD-40 cans out of the plant to use at home.

A few years following WD-40’s first industrial use, Rocket Chemical Company founder Norm Larsen experimented with putting WD-40 into aerosol cans, reasoning that consumers might find a use for the product at home as some of the employees had. The product made its first appearance on store shelves in San Diego in 1958.? In 1960 the company nearly doubled in size, growing to seven people, who sold an average of 45 cases per day from the trunk of their cars to hardware and sporting goods stores in the San Diego area.

In 1961 the first full truckload order for WD-40 was filled when employees came in on a Saturday to produce additional concentrate to meet the disaster needs of the victims of hurricane Carla along the U.S. Gulf coast. WD-40 was used to recondition flood and rain damaged vehicles and equipment.

In 1969 the company was renamed after its only product, WD-40.

WD-40 Company, Inc., went public in 1973 and was listed Over-The-Counter. The stock price increased by 61% on the first day of listing.? Since that time, WD-40 has grown by leaps and bounds, and is now virtually a household name, used in numerous consumer and industrial markets such as automotive, manufacturing, sporting goods, aviation, hardware and home improvement, construction, and farming.? In 1993, WD-40 Company celebrated its 40th anniversary by breaking the $100 million sales mark. That year the company was also listed among the Top Ten Most Profitable companies on the NASDAQ exchange. Not bad for a company with only one product!